first offshore boat spinning rod need advice...

[antoni]

i now have a boat and and am really excited about getting into some near shore-offshore fishing.(within 5 miles from shore)
i am looking for a 6' - 7' 12-30lb line, braid ready,extra large guides, fast action w/ soft sensitive tip rod for pitching live free lined bait and casting plugs and jigs up to 4oz. to near shore pelagics such as kings, cobia and albacore. I want a soft enough tip to rip jig vertical freestyle and hogy jigs at high speed retrieve effectively. most of the heavy spinning rods i see are very stiff for bottom fishing. can some one recommend a rod under $100? would the light freestyle jigging rods work well? i was thinking they would not be good for live baiting.

thanks
antoni

[Tidedancer]

Live bait rods and rods that will cast 4 oz. jigs are two different rods entirely IMOP.

Take a drive over to South Georgia Outdoors in Cairo and see what they have to offer since they are close by.
Half Hitch Tackle has Cobia rods in 7 to 8 feet with very large eyes for distance casting. But these would not be good for jigging IMOP. My vote is for Shimano spinning reels and gets my vote for the best bang for your buck in Saltwater fishing. The Stradic 5000 has been my go to spinning reel for most of the offshore fish I chase with a spinning rod. My Cobia rods are from Half Hitch and have 12000's on them.
I guess it's what do you think you will chase most. This would be the 1st choice. But now you have a boat and a boat needs many different rods to make your trips out on the water more enjoyable. Good luck and happy shopping.

[antoni]

i'll check out sports authority in tally. since i'm new to offshore I want a pretty versatile rod for jigging. i really want to try vertical jigging it looks fun!

[Harmsway]

Antoni, I recommend that you check out Kevin's, too.

[Reel Cowboy]

extra large guides

If you don't mind me asking, why the extra large guides?
The bigger the guides, the heavier the guides and that means a heavier rod. As far as casting distance with a spinning rod, if you can remove weight (smaller/lighter guides) especially towards the tip and get the line controlled faster (again smaller guide) you'll acheive a much more effcient cast.